My mom was just started on Lyrica and Cymbalta for fibromyalgia. Is worsening confusion, mobility, and cognition from the medications?

Issybeau, you’re dealing with a lot here. Not only does Mom have health problems but mental issues as well. When people post about how Mom or Dad has changed so much I just feel so bad for them. It’s so very hard to accept and we DO want to shake them and say “Stop saying that stuff! What’s wrong with you!” Many’s the trip I took home from the nursing home crying my eyes out because my mom didn’t know me.

That’s when the wonderful people on this site are there to share with. Come back as often as you need to. Holding good thoughts for you and Mom for June.

After the MRI and blood work, the Doctor's best guess was that she was not clearing the Lyrica as quickly as normal and we should just give it some more time. The MRI showed some plaque buildup but would not be sufficient to justify the major issues she was having.

They are going to wait until June for the Lyrica to clear and then do a physical to see how she's doing. At that time they are recommending a statin to address the plaque issue as they seem to think its related to heart issues.

She is better, however she does seen to have some weird delusions regarding things around the house. For example, she was sure that someone was plowing our field and kicked up a huge rock that they just left. Well, someone is going to come and CUT our field in JUNE and the ROCK has been there for the last 13 years. I just nod and say "Oh, ok." and she seems happy. Its really hard for me to not correct her or shake her and tell her to wake up. She's not the person I knew my whole life and its hard to get used to.

Since she has no restrictions from the doctor, she decided today that she would go out and about in her car. Last time she did that she got lost, however that was at the height of her Lyrica issues. She tells me that I need to "trust" her. Oh Lord give me strength!

Thank you DeeAnna, my frustration was just showing yesterday. This is certainly a marathon and not a sprint. I would feel better if the doctor would return my call regarding the MRI. Maybe they haven't been able to interpret the results yet......I'm sure they are working diligently on some answers. I'm trying to keep my stress levels down and just breathe. Thank you everyone for responding to my concerns! Its a big help!

Sorry that your Mom is having so much trouble finding the right medications for her fibromyalgia pain. It's possible that your doctor doesn't know "for a fact" that the Lyrica is causing the worsening confusion, mobility problems, and cognition changes. Maybe that is why she sent your Mom for a MRI--to see if anything else was going on; not because the doctor "was just passing you and your Mom off or hoping (you) would just give up".

Other health problems that can cause sudden decline in mental status and ability to function properly are UTIs, respiratory infections such mild (walking) pneumonia, anemia, electrolyte imbalance, and dehydration--just to name a few.

It is frustrating for you, and for the doctor as well, not knowing what is causing your Mom's new behavior problems. You need to let the doctor continue to investigate and rule out the various possible causes.

You mention that your Mom has only one kidney, it is possible that the doctor did not take that into account when she prescribed the Lyrica for your Mom. If a person has renal impairment (or one kidney), the Lyrica dose needs to be decreased to HALF of the usual dose. Instead of 50-100 mg three times a day [TOTAL daily dose= 150mg-300mg per day] , the recommended dose is 25-75 mg two times a day [TOTAL daily dose = 25-150 mg]. Hopefully once the Lyrica clears from your Mom's body, she will return to normal. If not, then you and the doctor need to look at other possible causes for your Mom's worsening confusion, mobility, and cognition. Has the doctor checked the function of your Mom's remaining kidney recently?

I have had fibromyalgia for almost 30 years and was on Lyrica from 2009 to 2015. It was quite helpful, reducing the pain so well that I was able to travel via plane and train, something that I hadn't been able to do for years. Unfortunately for me, in 2014-2015 I gained 50+ lbs and went from a size 2X to size 4X. When my weight started to effect my breathing and I experienced shortness of breathe while walking, the doctor discontinued the Lyrica. I lost 50+ lbs in 3 months. I am now on other medications that work but are not as effective as the Lyrica.

Each of us have different responses to medication. I have heard of people from both ends of the spectrum--some have had fantastic relief of their fibromyalgia pain with Lyrica with little side effects and others have had little or no relief of pain and/or experienced lots of major side effects with Lyrica. Your Mom need to use whatever works for her and it may take a lot of "trial and error" for your doctor and you to determine the right medication or medication combo that works for your Mom. Good Luck.

Thank you everyone! Mom's doctor sent her to the ER for an MRI on Monday just to see if anything else was going on. I kind of felt like she was just passing us off or hoping we would just give up after the 7 hour ER ordeal. We are still no further in finding out why Mom is suddenly having hallucinations and getting lost when she's driving. I'm waiting to hear from her doctor as to the results of the MRI. The ER wasn't very forthcoming with information at all. Feel like we are going around in circles. Still thinking its probably the Lyrica and its just taking a while to clear from her system since she only has one kidney. Sometimes I think the pharmaceutical industry has too much influence on doctors........Lyrica is not the miracle drug they make it out to be for some people.

It’s amazing that 95% of the posters to this question who have tried the Lyrica/Cymbalta “cocktail” found it didn't work. I thought it was just me! If you have seen the advertising, you would think these meds are a real gift to those people who have fibromyalgia. Not! I didn’t have any reactions. I had...nothing. For a lot of money out of pocket! I do a lot better on aspirin or Tylenol.

After I posted my answer, the following occurred to me. As I said my Mom was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and the doctor will be writing the Rx for Lyrica. At that same appointment, we also discussed Mom’s current anti-depressant (Lexapro 20mg) and the fact that it really didn’t seem it was doing her any good. The doctor decided to change anti-depressants to Zoloft 50mg. The one thing doctor was adamant about was it is never good to introduce two new medications at the same time, especially since Mom is 91. So, after the three of us discussed, it was decided that Mom would start on the Zoloft first, followed by a quick checkup two weeks later. The doctor will then write Rx for Lyrica. HTH

Well the doctor took her off of the Lyrica. She said that my Mom was the second person they had seen within the last month who had recently been prescribed Lyrica and had developed hallucinations and confusion. She is still to take the Cymbalta though I wish they would have taken her off of that as well. We will see what happens......if this doesn't work then we are looking at a series of brain imaging scans to see if anything else is going on.

I can’t say anything about Lyrica just yet. My Mom was just diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and doctor prescribed it. I do have personal experience with Cymbalta though. I have had sciatica for nearly 17 years. One of the medications the doctor tried was Cymbalta. I took first dose and the next day was awful!! I woke up extremely agitated, had no patience, I threw a bottle of sunscreen at my husband (we were going to the desert for the weekend). I literally felt I’d lost my mind! I called doctor immediately who said stop taking Cymbalta. I had already made up my mind that there was no way I’d take it!! The next day after that I was back to normal. My Mom was prescribed Cymbalta last year. I never told her about my experience. She started taking it and about 3 days had passed when she said she “didn’t feel like herself.” She was extremely agitated and anxious. I then told her about my experience with Cymbalta. She had already decided to stop taking it. Within a few days she was back to normal! Sorry, I’m not a fan of Cymbalta. HTH

Wow LivingSouth. That's good to know. My Mom also only has one kidney due to a surgical error about 30 years ago so she has to be careful with drugs. Its just a mess........

I took Lyrica for Fibro and it made me feel awful and like I was in a daze - can only imagine what it would do for elderly with dementia. Low dose naltrexone made my normally low BP go sky high. My mom tried Cymbalta and it made her incoherent. She now just takes 8 hour Tylenol.

I think its a dud too. Crapshoot is an understatement!

I hope you have success in finding some pain relief. I’ve been trying for 4 years without success. Amytriptyline worked some, but is not now recommended because it is linked to dementia.

In my experience, Cymbalta was touted as being a great pain reliever--it was not. I think that a checkup is in order. Older brains act differently on meds--it's just such a frustrating crapshoot.

Thank you Amijoy, Becky and Jjariz.
We have an appointment tomorrow with her doctor. I agree that the meds don't seem to help her pain very much at all. With such a low success rate, its a wonder that they still prescribe these meds for fibro. Hopefully the doctor has some suggestions. Anyone try Savella or low dose Naltrexone?

It sounds like dementia, not medication side effects. See a Neurologist that specializes in dementia (not all Neurologists are created equal)

I was given Lyrica when it first came out for peripheral neuropathy which was it's original use. It was expensive. It did nothing positive. I gained 11 lbs. in the first two weeks. It did not alleviate any pain. I was also prescribed Cymbalta. It did not help. I use an ice pack and take ibuprofen or acetaminophen.

It’s always good to check in with her doctor when you notice any changes in her behavior and you should do this as soon as you can. Her doctor has her records and could give you a better answer about the meds and side-effects. Having said that, I can tell you that I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and also was prescribed those 2 meds. At that time, there was no generic for Cymbalta and the 2 meds together were prohibitively expensive. The Cymbalta was a fairly good anti-depreesent, but the Lyrica had no effect on me whatsoever. I did much better with ibuprofen or acetaminophen.